Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup: Caldo Verde

Portugal's famous sausage kale potato soup, also known as caldo verde, is beyond delicious! Made with smoky garlicky sausages and plenty of kale and potatoes, this hearty soup verges on a stew and make a wonderfully satisfying one-pot dinner. 

In Portugal the most popular meat is pork and the best-loved soup is sausage kale potato soup. When I was in Lisbon and Porto there was a version of caldo verdo on every restaurant menu. It's also a popular dish at weddings and other special occasions.

The Caldo Verde recipe originated in the Minho region of northern Portugal. You might be familiar with the delicious sparkling wine called Vinho Verde, which hails from that same region.

HOW TO MAKE PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE KALE POTATO SOUP

There are only 6 main ingredients in this soup: sausages, kale, potatoes, chicken broth, onions and garlic. 

• One of the key ingredients of Caldo Verde is Linguica sausage. It's a smoked pork sausage, flavored with garlic and sweet paprika. If you can't find Linguica, you can substitute another smoked sausage, such as Chourico or even Spanish Chorizo.
• The first step to making sausage kale potato soup is to sauté the sausages. The fat and browned bits that are left in the pot will enhance the flavor of the soup.
• I like to slice one sausage into rounds and brown it, for a tasty garnish. The rest of the sausages are chopped and cooked in the soup to thicken it and to ensure that you get some delicious sausage in every bite.

• After the sausages are browned and removed from the pot, add the chopped onions and garlic and cook them for a few minutes until softened. Then add cubed potatoes, broth and water to the pot and cook until the potatoes have softened, about 15 minutes. 
• Use a potato masher to mash half of the potatoes, right in the pot, leaving the other half as chunks of potato, for texture. 
• Now add the cooked chopped sausage and the raw kale and cook the soup for a few more minutes until the kale is wilted and soup is heated through. 

How to prepare kale

• For this soup I love to use the darker, more delicate lacinato kale. In addition to being delicious, it's packed with vitamins and minerals.

• Kale has a thick center rib which we want to remove. Pull the green leafy parts off of the center ribs, then stack the leaves on top of each other and slice them crosswise, into thin slivers. Now they're ready to add to the soup and will take only a few minutes to cook in the hot broth.

How to prepare the potatoes

• I like to use russet potatoes for this recipe. Peel them, slice them in half lengthwise and then crosswise into bite-sized chunks. Once you add them to the soup, they'll need only about 15 minutes of cooking.
• After the potatoes cook in the broth, half of them are mashed, which makes the soup thick and creamy.  The other half remain in bite-sized chunks, adding great texture to this sausage kale potato soup.

What to serve with Sausage Kale Potato Soup

• If you want to stick with tradition, serve caldo verde soup with brown bread or corn bread on the side, to dip.
• Although there are plenty of greens in this soup, I always enjoy a cold salad on the side with a hot soup. If you're in the mood for a side salad, I recommend this butter lettuce salad with citrus honey vinaigrette

If you like this kind of tasty one-pot dinner, here are a few other Panning The Globe recipes you might enjoy: 

• Curried Butternut Squash, Lentil and Chicken Stew
• Moroccan Chicken Stew with Apricots, Sweet Potatoes and Kale 
• Korean Chicken Stew with Spinach

Here's the recipe for Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Caldo Verde: Portuguese sausage kale potato soup

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5 from 4 reviews

• Author: Lisa Goldfinger
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 5-7 1x

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Description

A nutritious satisfying one-pot dinner that's fairly simple to cook.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, for sautéing
• 1 ½ pounds fully-cooked, smoked Linguica sausage - slice one fourth of the sausage into thin rounds - the rest into ¼-inch dice (Chorizo or Chourico are good substitutes if you can't find Linguica)
• 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion (2 medium onions)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (5-6 cloves)
• 4 cups low salt chicken broth (I recommend Swanson's)
• 3 cups water
• 2 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled, sliced into quarters lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch chunks.
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bunch kale, washed, thick center ribs removed, and slivered (I prefer the dark green dinosaur kale but any kale is fine)

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Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Sauté the sausage rounds for 1 minute or two, until they are nicely browned. Transfer to a small plate and set aside. Add diced sausage to the pot and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until they start to brown a bit. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.
2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot, along with the chopped garlic and onions. Sauté over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes until onions soften and start to get transparent. (Don't let them brown)
3. Add broth, water, potatoes and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a steady simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Using a potato masher, mash half the potatoes right in the pot, so you have a creamy broth with some chunks of potato remaining.
4. Add the cooked chopped sausage and the slivered kale. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the kale wilts and the soup is heated through.
5. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a few rounds of cooked sausage. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a the advice of a professional nutritionist.

• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Category: Soup
• Method: stovetop
• Cuisine: Portuguese